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I gave him a few minutes before concentrating. The bedroom door unlocked, the lamp went out, and I moved closer to the bed.

By then, I’d gotten strong enough that I could speak directly to somebody when I wanted to, almost like in the movie Ghost where the living person could hear the dead man while everybody else was standing around clueless. It had already happened with Marcellus. I’d spoken to him, he’d heard and saw me clear as day, and nobody else in the room had witnessed a damn thing.

Apparently, I could choose who got the privilege.

I could’ve done the same thing with Yonas the second he walked through my door. I simply didn’t because where was the fun in that? Telling a nigga there was a ghost in the house was one thing. Making his ass slowly realize the ghost knew his business, didn’t like him, and wanted him the fuck gone was another.

Sometimes good work required patience, so I improvised.

“Yonas.”

He only stirred, so I called his name again.

“Yonas.”

His eyes opened, and he frowned into the darkness. “What?”

I leaned closer. “Nigga, wake yo’ bitch ass up!”

His entire body went stiff, and he slowly turned his head toward the sound of my voice.

Nobody was there, at least nobody he could see.

Yonas shot upright. “Who… who said that?! Lakelyn?!”

I laughed. “Nigga, do I sound like Lakelyn?”

“Then who… who are you?” he asked, looking around frantically.

I snatched the comforter off him before he could pull it any tighter around himself. “Get yo’ scared ass up and come find out.”

I laughed, turned around, and walked out of the room.

By the time I reached the hallway, I was still smiling. I stopped there and waited for his ass to decide whether curiosity was stronger than fear.

Yonas grabbed his phone and tried to turn on the flashlight, only to discover the battery was dead.

“Shit!”

I laughed. “Phone ain’t gonna save you tonight.”

Yonas slowly approached the doorway and peered into the hallway. When he didn’t see anything, he finally stepped out, and every light went off at once.

“Man, hell nah!”

I made the light at the far end of the hallway flicker back on, then stepped beneath it and made myself fully visible to him.

Black sweats hung low on my waist, a black T-shirt stretched across my chest, and my chain rested against my neck. I looked exactly the way I had when I was alive, right down to the expression on my face that should’ve told Yonas he had officially fucked around long enough.

Yonas stopped dead, his mouth falling open as he stared at me.

I folded my arms. “What’s up, my nigga?”

He stumbled backward in disbelief, his eyes moving over me as recognition slowly settled across his face. “It’s… it’s you. You’re Lakelyn’s ex.”

Ex?

I damn near took offense.